unneccesary congestion due to police.

goldspanners

and if anyone dares question the reason for this then im sure it will be the usual "anti terrorism" pi$$.

Money_Grabber13579

In fact, I'm very glad that they do things like this. If it means I have to wait an extra 10 mins, then so be it. The more uninsured drivers they take off the road the better. Saves them crashing into me and my insurance taking the hit.

flyingscotno1

goldspanners wrote: »

ive had a google but cant find anything on this,which i find a bit alarming considering the amount of vehicles involved,maybe someone here knows?

on friday the 22nd of may around 6 or 7pm there was a huge tailback on the m8 from the city centre right up to the glasgow fort junction,eventually when i got to the fort junction there was an unmarked coned off vw crafter van parked at a jaunty angle half on the hard shoulder half on the grass verge with a camera on the hard shoulder facing the traffic que that was coming towards it very slowly,just after this there were 2 marked police bmw x5s and 2 police bikes that looked ready to give chase,why on earth do they think its ok to cause so much congestion like this at rush hour on a firday night and what exactly was it all about?
secondly,this friday 29th of may leaving edinburgh passing the airport but heading towards the city centre there was another similar looking situation to this except the police actually had temporary traffic lights set up stopping masses of vehicle heading into the city centre there was again a significant police presence here and again similarly it was a very busy period on a very busy road.

does anyone know what any of this is about?

If all lanes were open it shouldn't cause any jams. Just like the muppets staring at accidents it is all the people that get frightened and cause the congestion. Like when the police sit doing 60 on the motorway and everyone is to scared to pass them at around 70 so slow to 61mph and inch past them! Very annoying. Actually you can often get stuck in a queue past the Fort anyway to Eurocentral or M74 cut-off as it is one lane.

In the end ANPR is very effective in catching uninsured drivers and some of the nonsense that goes with it- and is that not what we want the police to do?

Nilrem

goldspanners wrote: »

so your happy with hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of police resources tied up at the side of a grid locked motorway just incase someone who has forgotten thier tax this month drives past?

maybe if they just went about thier normal patrols with thier anpr equiped vehciles they would be doing a similar job,but a bit more effectively as they could all be on different roads and not just one.

You are of course aware of the numbers of uninsured, unlicensed, untaxed drivers on the roads, who we all pay for in our insurance premiums? (what is is reckoned to be, 10+% of cars now?)

A busy road at peak hours is one of the best times for the police to catch these people, many of whom are likely to be multiple offenders and not just someone who has "forgotten" to pay their tax this month (not to mention forgotten to pass their driving test, forgotten to get their death trap MOT'd, and forgotten they are already banned for various driving offences).

By setting up a proper ANPR trap rather than just individual units they can have one or two ANPR vehicles to do the automated checks, and a multitude of non ANPR vehicles to do the chasing down, which means that they can get a lot more people than relying purely on the ANPR equipped vehicles (I don't beleive it's in all their cars, and I doubt it's on any of the bikes).

IIRC the figures i've heard quoted in the past suggest that they can and do pick up dozens of offenders in most of these stops in a relatively short space of time*, and as a method of catching people who are driving untaxed/uninsured etc it's very effective in terms of the number caught for the time and man power required (and from memory it's not at all uncommon for them to pick up on other offences at the same time).

Ideally they would/should be doing it in a manner that minimises any problems for the public, but the disturbance from these sorts of operations is relatively minor (annoying but minor) compared to the results.


Personally I'm all for ANPR traps if it reduces the number of unsafe drivers and vehicles on the road.


*And at some locations get so many hits they barely have the manpower to act on them.

tealady

If the traffic congestion was caused by the police catching untaxed (and so unlicenced vehicles) then I am all for it.
As a pedestrian (and bus user) if I was to be injured by the driver of an untaxed vehicle I would be unlikely to get any compensation as most probably their insurance would't pay out.
So if you are happy to lose everything you have worked for (and possibly your life as well) then campaign for fewer vehicle checks and pray you are never hit by one of these tax dodgers.

Keith

tealady wrote: »

As a pedestrian (and bus user) if I was to be injured by the driver of an untaxed vehicle I would be unlikely to get any compensation as most probably their insurance would't pay out.

Really? An insurance company wouldn't pay out to an injured third party due to lack of road tax? Do you have a link to prove this?

dacouch

Not having road tax does not stop a third party obtaining compensation from the drivers insurance.

If you are hit by an uninsured driver you can obtain compensation from the Motor Insurers Bureau (This is funded by the Insurers by a levy on each persons premium of circa £35).

The database the police use to confirm whether a car is insured or not is approximately 95% accurate so approximately one in 20 of the vehicles they stop for having no insurance will actually be insured.

DKLS

We have had a few ANPR swoops recently around here, and I can live with any delay caused by this. According to the results printed in the local rag, as well as catching those without valid, road tax, mot and insurance, they also picked up a number of drug dealers and other assorted crims who were wanted for various other crimes. So all in all a very useful tool in the polices's arsenal against crime.

OP Remember the serial killer Ted Bundy?, was he caught CSI/FBI stylee ? no, he was caught because he ran stop signs and turned his lights off.

Chippy_Minton_2

goldspanners wrote: »

sorry linas,not biting.

You just have!:p

Hintza

LinasPilibaitisisbatman wrote: »

What an idiot.

As said a few police cars at the side of the road shouldnt cause anything. its idiots like you who clearly slow down to be nosey who cause the hassle.

OK I'll bite, Which part of the OP's original post suggests the OP had any other option but to travel at the speed dictated by the rubber neckers in front?

So why are you calling the OP an idiot? Looks like you as usual you are just trying to get a rise from someone. So will i do???